This proposal is to request support for a Keystone Symposia meeting entitled "Cell Death Pathways", organized by Eric H. Baehrecke and Guy S. Salvesen, which will be held in Whistler, British Columbia, Canada from March 22 - 27, 2009. Programmed cell death plays a critical role during development and adult homeostasis by eliminating unneeded and damaged cells, and defects in cell death can result in a wide range of diseases. While studies of apoptotic cell death have defined central regulatory mechanisms including a role for mitochondria, the relationship between core apoptosis factors, mitochondrial physiology, and how this relates to normal and aberrant development remains unsolved. The purpose of this meeting is to define the relationship between mitochondria and cell death pathways. The meeting will focus on the relationship between apoptosis regulatory pathways, mitochondrial physiology, metabolism, and non-apoptotic death mechanisms in the context of normal development and pathological situations including degenerative disorders and cancer. Opportunities for interdisciplinary interactions will be significantly enhanced by the concurrent meeting "Mitochondrial Dynamics and Physiology", which will share a keynote address and two plenary sessions with this meeting. Public Health Relevance: Appropriate regulation of cell death is critical to human health, being required for critical processes such as elimination of cells during normal embryo development;maturation and functioning of the immune system;and removal of cells following treatment with radiation or chemotherapeutics. Aberrant cell death signaling alters development and contributes to diseases (e.g., developmental abnormalities, immune deficiencies, degenerative and age-related disorders, carcinogenesis, and a failure of cancer therapy). A detailed understanding of the cell death processes will greatly enhance our ability to treat a wide range of pathological conditions, including neurodegenerative disorders and cancer.